Four of the NFL’s nine unbeaten teams meet Sunday, which should provide some buzz, albeit so early in the season.
While C.J. Stroud’s Houston Texans meet the resurgent Sam Darnold’s Minnesota Vikings, Justin Herbert — questionable with a high ankle sprain as of Friday — and the Los Angeles Chargers meet the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have one touchdown through eight quarters.
Elsewhere around the league, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussions land him on IR as doubts surrounding his career continue. The Saints’ offense is off to a torrid start. Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young has been benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. The Atlanta Falcons — coming off a thrilling win at Philadelphia — host the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday’s nightcap.
What will Sunday’s action bring? The Athletic’s NFL writers Mike Sando, Zak Keefer and Jeff Howe discuss.
We have a pair of matchups between unbeatens in Week 3 — Texans-Vikings and Chargers-Steelers. What are you watching for in each of these games?
Sando: I’ll be interested in seeing how Sam Darnold plays if the Vikings fall behind. Can he continue to avoid the errors that have marked his career? In the other game, I want to see how Chargers right tackle Joe Alt fares against the Steelers’ T.J. Watt. Alt has been pretty dominant so far. This will be a fun matchup and if Alt wins it, he’s going to be voted All-Pro this year. He might be anyway.
Howe: Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is off to a hot start, but C.J. Stroud is going to be his greatest challenge so far. If Flores can make life tough on Stroud, it could mean the Vikings have real staying power in the race for a playoff spot. The Chargers-Steelers game will be a brawl, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if neither team scores 20 points. I’m very interested to see how Justin Herbert and Justin Fields handle those stifling defenses. Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh has Herbert playing a more conservative style, and that could be important in a game like this. But with Herbert questionable with a high ankle sprain, the element of a measuring-stick game might be wiped away if he’s unavailable or significantly limited. I still think this will be a fun game from a defensive perspective, though.
Keefer: I’m with Jeff — the Texans’ offense struggled a bit in the second half Sunday night against an excellent Bears defense, and I’m wondering if Flores’ unit can give them some of the same problems. As for Chargers-Steelers, how many touchdowns will we see? Less than four? For a Pittsburgh team that’s 2-0 despite scoring one touchdown in eight quarters, I can’t see that formula working for long. The Steelers are going to have to unlock something offensively to keep winning games.
Panthers QB Bryce Young has been benched 18 games into his career as Carolina travels to Las Vegas to face the Raiders. What’s next for Young? Would the league benefit from sitting more rookie/young QBs to start their careers?
Sando: While the Panthers did a poor job supporting Young, the situation serves as a reminder against betting big on outlier quarterbacks. Young’s size was an issue coming into the 2023 draft. It’s a bigger issue now that teams have seen just how much his stature has complicated his ability to play well. The Panthers will either draft a quarterback early in 2025 or find a veteran. I don’t see Young in the picture.
Howe: The Panthers have to do everything in their power to rebuild Young’s confidence because he clearly hasn’t been playing with any. That’s on the Panthers for dropping him into a bad situation — three head coaches, a dearth of talent at the skill positions and a line that has failed to protect him. They can’t put Young back on the field until everything else is operating at a higher capacity, even if that’s not until 2025. I don’t think the league should change its consideration over how quickly to play its QBs, though. Quarterbacks enter the league far more ready to start now than ever before because of all the camps, all-star games and everything else that comes with the high school and college spotlight. However, if a team can’t protect its QB due to a lack of talent, it’s better to avoid shattering his confidence by playing him too early and exposing him to failure. I think that’s what you’re seeing with the Patriots and Drake Maye.
Bryce Young: “For the last year and these two games, every snap hit my hands and I didn’t do enough with it.”
h/t @SteveReedAP for the video. pic.twitter.com/l1QFOfjurl
— Joe Person (@josephperson) September 19, 2024
Keefer: Young’s benching is an organizational failure, and one of the worst we’ve seen in this league in some time. I don’t get the sense Dave Canales is ready to give up Young — he raved about his poise and processing in the preseason — so I’d assume the thinking is: Give the young quarterback a breather, let him reset, and see if he can rediscover his confidence on the practice field the next few weeks and months. And yes, I’ve long felt that only a select few rookie quarterbacks are ready for the rigors of starting a rookie season. But teams are in too much of a hurry to play the long game. It’s backfired before, and it backfired here.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve this week while in concussion protocol and can’t return to action before Week 8. Are the playoffs a realistic goal for Miami if Tagovailoa’s absence stretches even longer?
Sando: Not without acquiring a quarterback from another team. Tyler Huntley’s signing from the Ravens’ practice squad isn’t going to be enough, in my view. It’ll be fun to see if Mike McDaniel can scheme the Dolphins out of this, much the way Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur did for the Packers against Indy. I just don’t think that’s plausible for a long stretch. If Tagovailoa is out for a long time, Miami will need to do something to upgrade the position and send a message of hope to the locker room.
Howe: No, the AFC has too many quality teams, and the Dolphins have too difficult of a schedule. They’re going to need to play terrific defense and scheme up a run game and quick passing attack to play perfect complementary football to steal some games along the way, and I think that’s too much to ask. It’s not unrealistic to think the Dolphins can get to 3-3 by the time Tagovailoa is eligible to return, but a longer absence could cost him games against the Cardinals, Bills and Rams. That’s going to be a season-defining stretch regardless of who’s at QB.
Keefer: I don’t see this team making the playoffs with Tua sidelined for the next month — and likely longer. Tua may have limitations, but he’s an excellent fit for McDaniels’ offensive system, one built on speed. Tua’s accuracy is what makes it go, accentuating the talents of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Without the QB, the Dolphins lose a part of their identity, and I don’t trust the defense, either, not after the way Josh Allen and the Bills ran over them last week. It could be a long couple of months in Miami.
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The New Orleans Saints and their offense are the talk of the league as they host the Eagles in Week 3. What is so different about the Saints than in the past?
Sando: They have a very well-schemed rushing attack and it’s giving them a refocused identity, something they needed, in retrospect, after the transition out of the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era. Adding left tackle Taliese Fuaga in the draft was another important move. It’s not going to look as good when the Saints fall behind, but their rushing attack and defense have given the offense, and especially quarterback Derek Carr, a favorable context.
Howe: Klint Kubiak is off to a tremendous start. The Saints had gotten stale on offense under Pete Carmichael, and they had been looking to replace him after Payton stepped away. Now with an innovative coordinator, the Saints are clicking in a way we haven’t seen since Brees was running the show. Thing is, they’ve shown flashes in short spurts the past couple of years but never sustained it, so I’m intrigued to see if this continues.
Keefer: Early-down success in the run game has changed everything for the Saints, opening up the playbook on later downs, which has allowed Carr to be aggressive. Alvin Kamara has not-so-subtly reminded the league how dangerous he is, giving this offense the type of balance that’ll scare defensive coordinators for most of the rest of the season. To think: The Saints opened the season with 15 straight scoring drives. I’ll be eager to see how defenses counter them the rest of the way, and if they find any way of slowing them down.
Kirk Cousins’ prime-time record didn’t matter much Monday night, when the Falcons earned one of the best wins of Week 2 in Philadelphia. Sunday night, they host the Chiefs, who have won a pair of nail-biters to start the season. What are your thoughts on this matchup?
Sando: I think the Chiefs will start fast offensively and then get after Cousins when Atlanta has to depart from its run-oriented script. The Chiefs will do a better job in coverage as well.
Howe: Cousins’ game-winning drive was clutch and showed he can still play at a higher level, but it also masked a number of earlier mistakes when he didn’t trust his reads or simply didn’t see open receivers. Whether it’s the injury-related layoff or adjusting to a new offense and organization, Cousins is still playing catchup. I think he’ll get there eventually, but it looks like it’s going to require patience. However, there was a pivotal point midway through the Monday nighter when the Falcons recognized they could bully the Eagles with Bijan Robinson. They’ve absolutely got to see if that will work against the Chiefs because that’s a well-coached, veteran defense that I’d expect to give Cousins a headache if he’s put in too many passing situations.
GO DEEPER
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Keefer: Impressive as Atlanta’s game-winning drive was, the Falcons were sloppy most of Monday’s game, and Cousins admitted he needed to be better in his postgame interview. The Chiefs, similarly, eeked out a narrow win over the Bengals they probably shouldn’t have had. In a game headlined by the offenses, I think Kansas City’s defense will be the difference. The Falcons still have a ways to go.
(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
